Murphy Discusses Ending U.S. Support To The War In Yemen, Resetting The U.S.-Saudi Alliance, Supporting Ukraine With Secretary Of State Nominee Antony Blinken

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, this week asked Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken about the war in Yemen and the path forward for the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia at his confirmation hearing. Blinken reiterated the Biden administration's commitment to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen, which has been a top priority for Murphy in the United States Senate.

"[Yemen] has been just a national security disaster for the United States. Over 100,000 children have died of starvation and disease, [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], to Senator Graham's point, maybe the arm of Al-Qaeda with the clearest intentions to hit the United States, remains active controlling territory and I would argue it has strengthened Iran the longer that it has gone on," said Murphy. "President-Elect Biden made a commitment during the campaign to end our military support for the Saudi-led coalition and I wanted to ask you to speak to that commitment, but then also maybe to step back and talk about what our work through this coalition has taught us about the path forward in our relationship with Saudi Arabia. This is an important ally, a strategic partner, but one that has begun to act very differently, and Yemen is an example of a set of behaviors that has gone off the rails in many ways, and probably argues for us to take a different approach to an ally, but an ally whose interests often do not align with ours any longer."

Murphy also asked Blinken about the capacities the United States State Department needs to effectively respond to threats abroad and compete on the global stage.

"[W]hat are the capacities that State doesn't have today that it needs to be able to compete? If the threats that are posed to the United States in the next 50 years are by and large not conventional military threats, what does State need to be able to respond? And second, especially in these really dangerous, fragile places, how do we get the State Department out of its bunker? Right? Especially in the wake of Benghazi, the walls have gone up, and so 18-year-old Marines are out doing the work of diplomats. So what kind of new capacities do we need? How do we get State out on the front lines?" Murphy asked.

Murphy added: "It doesn't make sense to me, given the threats presented to the United States today, that we have more military band members than we do diplomats. And we have to watch what China's doing. 2019 was the first year in which they had more diplomatic posts around the world than the United States did. If we're going to meet them on a playing field of even strength, then we need to recognize that."

Lastly, Murphy also asked Blinken about the need to provide Ukraine the political, economic and military assistance to help them maintain independence from Russia and stamp out corruption, and the path forward for U.S.-Kyiv relations. In December, Murphy met with Blinken ahead of his confirmation hearing to discuss the need to rebuild the U.S. Department of State, how the U.S. can revitalize diplomacy in the post-Trump era, and restoring Congress's role in foreign policy.

A full transcript of Murphy's exchange with Blinken can be found below:

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